a while back here i stated that of my goals is a tigher middle figure, and it was explained to me that by doing "core" excrecices you essentially, ummm, bring ur tunny closer to your back, which is exactly what i want, this isnt about fat % or having a strong enough stomach to get punched or even a 6 pack, i want a tight stomach, RA, Ob's etc.

so - i was told that doing planks is a good way to start (on top of my normal workout) and when i said i cna only do about 60 secs stright i was advices to do 3 sets of 30 - so as i progress i can no do 40, and evne more, but rather i do feel that after 3 sets i can maybe do more, so i want to ask this

for my goal - which is better, more sets of less seconds? or stick with 3 sets with 1 min in between and raise the time i plank each "set"?

You can go either way. In real life you aren't often called on to hold your "core" muscles more than a few seconds, so I prefer more sets of shorter duration, or adding weight to the plank, and keeping them short.

_________________Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Well, from what I've seen, for us normal dudes that don't want to be bodybuilders it is enough to do compound lifts (like deadlifts, (one legged) squats, L pull-ups, one armed push-ups) to have nice midsection.If you want tight midsection, the only way is to lose your fat. You can't make it less soft.If you have fat only in midsection, you could have low testosterone levels.

_________________Don’t run if you can walk, don’t walk if you can stand, don’t stand if you can sit,and if you sat, might as well lie down and take a nap.

In my opinion, once you can hold a proper plank for a minute you need to increase the difficulty. By Proper, I mean, abs and glutes engaged, elbows forward of your shoulders and your body straight from head to heels. Then I would switch to ab rollouts, TRX fallouts or some other anti-extention exerice. Pushups work as planks too, so doing those will kill two birds with one stone.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

a while back here i stated that of my goals is a tigher middle figure, and it was explained to me that by doing "core" excrecices you essentially, ummm, bring ur tunny closer to your back, which is exactly what i want, this isnt about fat % or having a strong enough stomach to get punched or even a 6 pack, i want a tight stomach, RA, Ob's etc.

Getting Punched

Okay, since you brought it up... If you have strong, tight abs, you going to be able to take a punch in the stomach.

Think of it as an additional benefit.

Quote:

so - i was told that doing planks is a good way to start (on top of my normal workout) and when i said i cna only do about 60 secs stright i was advices to do 3 sets of 30 - so as i progress i can no do 40, and evne more, but rather i do feel that after 3 sets i can maybe do more, so i want to ask this

Planks

I am underly impressed with Planks. While they have some ab training value, I question the glorified value they have received.

Ab Wheel

From my personal experience, it is my view that the Ab Wheel is bascially a "Moving Plank". I see it as having a much greater value.

When ask about ab training at the National Strength and Conditioning Association Conference, Spassov about ab training he replied...

"...if players were squatting, cleaning and pressing, bench pressing, deadlifting and so forth, their trunk muscles were already much more strongly involved than they are during most situps, crunches or machine training."

500 lb Squat/Deadlift Vs 30 Second Plank

Which one requires more core strength?

Research and empirical data demonstrates the core (abs, lower back, etc) are fully activated in heavy lift like these.

Additional Core Work

Based on my personal experience, individual with long turnks usually need additional ab work.

Long Bridges

Think of a long torso as a long bridge. Longer bridges need additional support.

"The results of this study indicate that the activation of the abdominal and lumbar muscles was the greatest during the exercises that required deltoid and gluteal recruitment."

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum